KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A day in Kansas City meant for celebration marred by violence Wednesday afternoon after officials say one person is dead, 21 others were shot and three are in police custody following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.
“We became part of a statistic of too many Americans, those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “Parades, rallies, schools, movies — it seems like almost nothing is safe.”
Kansas City’s fire department said they were prepared for the event with over 800 officers on duty in the downtown area.
But still, in a matter of moments, thousands of lives were changed forever by the actions of few — actions that appear ot be unpreventable in situations like these.
“I won't get into a big debate right now. I think we're still doing an investigation, but what you saw happen was why people talk about guns a lot,” Lucas said.
Former Buffalo Police captain Jeff Rinaldo acknowledged the challenges parades and mass gatherings in outdoor spaces cause for law enforcement
He said the issue is that when something happens, there’s no warning or time to prepare.
“Officers on the ground can only see what's directly immediately in front of them,” Rinaldo said. “If somebody happens to be armed and they produce their weapon and open fire, there's going to be chaos.”
Rinaldo said there is really nothing more Kansas City could’ve done — or anyone can do in these situations — other than change the format of the event altogether.
“The only way to truly do that is to host these things in a more controlled environment where you can fence it, you can conduct screening of people coming into the space,” he said. “It becomes exclusionary to do that.”